10 years ago this week

Brothers Mike and Til Wallace were still “doing it their way,” according to a front-page profile of early Chugiak in the Feb. 6, 2003 edition of the Alaska Star.

The story recounted the Wallace brothers’ settlement in Chugiak in the mid-50s and detailed the settlement’s early history. Reporter Neil Zawicki reported the Wallace brothers were among the most notorious characters in an area known for independent spirits.

“It was in February 1947...when Chugiak was officially born,” wrote Zawicki. “A group of settlers formed a community club and chose the name (the Athabaskan word for “place of many places”). From there, the area swirled into a quirky soup of strong-willed mavericks who proudly built a town out of a scattering of cabins.”

Charter school hopes to soar high

A group of five teachers and parents hoped to create a new charter school in Eagle River. According to a story on Page 4, the proposed charter school would be called Eagle Academy and planned a 2004 opening. The school planned to use the “Spalding Method” of writing and reading.

“The Spalding method teaches kids to write before they can read,” explained curriculum manager Jeanne Gillette. “It’s a very effective and unique method.”

A location for the school had not yet been determined, although the article said planners were looking at two sites on Business Boulevard and Artillery Road.